Gospel Mt 25:1-13

Jesus told his disciples this parable: "The kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones, when taking their lamps, brought no oil with them, but the wise brought flasks of oil with their lamps.  Since the bridegroom was long delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.  At midnight, there was a cry, Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!'  Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps.  The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.'  But the wise ones replied, 'No, for there may not be enough for us and you.  Go instead to the merchants and buy some for yourselves.'  Wile they went off to buy it, the bridegroom came and those who were ready went into the wedding feast with him. Then the door was locked.  Afterwards the other virgins came and said,  'Lord, Lord, open the door for us!' But he said in reply, 'Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.'  Therefore, stay awake,

for you know neither the day nor the hour."

Staying Awake

When we hear scripture today, the message we hear is that time is sacred and how we spend that time will show how accountable we are or are not to God.  When scripture tells us that our time is scared, our property is sacred, our sexuality is sacred, our home is sacred, our worship is sacred, what is it really telling us?

It is telling us that unless we have a sense of the scared we will find an emptiness at the end of life which will lock us out of the very scared event we are all truly longing for – union with Christ!  Today’s parable Jesus tells us about ten virgins. Virginity was sacred in the ancient world, but virginity in and of itself, could not save five of the maidens.  Why – because they were foolish, and why were they foolish?  Because they no longer were conscious of God's saving action in their lives.

They fell asleep, they had forgotten, they in essence turned away – and the tragedy of our own times is the constant turning away from Christ, which is, in reality, the complete rejection of the good, the true, and the beautiful.

The five foolish virgins awoke to find they lacked oil.  Scholars have speculated what the oil represents:  faith, good works, mercy, or love.  I think the oil represents all of it, every thing which makes up the ingredients of our faith.

The foolish turn to the wise and ask for oil. You would think the Christian thing to do is give them some, but they were meet with a resounding, "No!"  How many people have you met who have wanted the faith you have and you were puzzled as to how to give it to them?  The reality is, faith and good works is not transferable. 

It reminds me of Anna Russell, Psychiatric Folk Song which goes like this, "At three I had a feeling of ambivalence towards my brothers and so it follows naturally I poisoned all my lovers, but I am happy now I have learned the lessons this has taught: Everything I do that's wrong, is someone else's fault!"

In the end, we are accountable to God for our own lives.  There will be no excuse for our falling asleep or turning away.  We can’t blame the hierarchy, the scandals, this one or that one; in the end, if our oil is gone we have only ourselves to blame.

God wants us to be accountable, and if you and I really, really believed that God is present to us, there are many things we would not be doing.  Watching and waiting, anticipating Christ’s return; is what keeps us honest and transparent, but is it some thing that is reasonable or even productive to do?

It been two thousand years and Jesus is still a, 'no show.'  Why would I put another minute into it expecting it?  Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple computer, the man who created a enough gadgets to keep us distracted for the rest of our lives, got the news he had terminal cancer and started asking the important questions of faith. 

He wondered if there was a God and figured there was a fifty-fifty chance.  He found it hard to believe that all the wisdom he attained in life would be lost in death.  Steve Jobs, the great creator was now lying on his death bed coming to grips with the reality that he was simply the creature struggling with the reality of knowing the Ultimate Creator.

During his last days, while he lay in his bed waiting for death to arrive his family surrounded him.  He lovingly looked at them, and they, lovingly looked back at him.  Then, just before he took his last breath they said his gaze went beyond them, as he slightly looked up and his last words were, “Oh wow, oh wow, oh wow.”

Why wait in anticipation for Christ return, because, as believers we are headed in that direction. Waiting and anticipating helps us accept the fact that this earth is not our final reality.  There is more to this life than what we see. but at the end of our life, we will see it, and that reality could be any day for anyone of us.  "Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour."